HBO has renewed GAME OF THRONES for a fifth season. Great news. But hardly surprising. I mean, it wasn't official, but everyone and his brother pretty well knew that we would get a fast renewal for season five.

But HBO has also renewed GAME OF THRONES for a sixth season, and that one is surprising. I don't think even David and Dan suspected that was coming. I certainly did not. HBO never orders more than one season at a time, not in recent memory. So this is pretty unprecedented. And pretty great.

The renewal comes on the heels of record ratings for the premiere episode of season four. "Two Swords" translated to more than six million viewers. (Just imagine if we'd had three or four or five swords!!). The episode netted the highest rating of any HBO show since the finale of THE SOPRANOS, which is pretty amazing, considering all the great television that HBO has aired in the intervening years.